5 WWE Superstars who rejected a spot in the Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble is one of the most anticipated events in the WWE calendar. Once a year, 30 men and 30 women compete in professional wrestling's most famous battle royal-style match, with the winners punching their ticket to the main event of WrestleMania.

While both the Men's and Women's Rumble matches have huge significance in regards to WrestleMania, the event is also much-loved for its surprises. Whether it's the shocking return of a superstar from injury or a cameo appearance from a talent of days gone by, fans know to expect the unexpected when January rolls around.

To provide these moments, WWE routinely reaches out to wrestlers from outside the company and offers them places in the Rumble.

In 2022 alone, WWE brought in Lita, Summer Rae, the Bella Twins, Sarah Logan, Melina and several other superstars from the past to take part in the Women's Royal Rumble match.

It would seem that even stars from other companies are on the table, as in an unprecedented move, current IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James was featured in this year's bout.

However, not every former Superstar that recieves an invite accepts it, and this year's event in particular saw a number of high-profile rejections.

With that in mind, here is a look at five occasions a superstar turned down an opportunity to compete in the Royal Rumble match.

#5 Chris Jericho rejected WWE's pitch for him to be part of the 2015 Royal Rumble

Before we move on to those who reportedly knocked back WWE's attempts to fit them into this year's event, let's take a look at one example from the past.

Chris Jericho is one of the most experienced competitors in Royal Rumble history with 11 appearances in the titular bout under his belt. Throughout his nearly-two decade run with WWE, Y2J was one of the most reliable hands on the roster and one of Vince McMahon's go-to guys when a spot needed to be filled.

However, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current AEW star did turn down an opportunity to compete in the marquee match back in 2015.

At the time, Jericho was not a regular on television and apparently felt that returning to the big stage for a one-off appearance with no follow-up plans would not be beneficial to him.

Meltzer wrote:

"Chris Jericho was contacted on 1/19 and asked to be in the Rumble, but he’s been wanting to stay out of the ring except on house shows, so that when he returns to TV as a wrestler it’ll be after being off for a while and people are wanting him back instead of coming back too early and it meaning nothing." - Wrestling Observer Newsletter, February 2, 2015.

Jericho would be back in the Royal Rumble in 2016 as he built towards a WrestleMania 32 match with AJ Styles.

#4 WWE Superstar Mustafa Ali made it clear he did not want a spot the 2022 Royal Rumble

Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Mustafa Ali has made no secret of his desire to leave the company - and the offer of a spot in this year's Royal Rumble wasn't enough to convince him to return to the ring.

Back on January 16, the 35-year-old announced on his own Twitter account that he had requested his release from WWE.

Revealing that he no longer felt he could achieve his personal goals in the promotion, Ali wrote:

"I have a message that is much bigger than my dreams in pro wrestling. Despite my best efforts, I will not be able to deliver this message while working with WWE," stated Ali. "Therefore, I am requesting my release from WWE."

Ali's unhappiness with the company reportedly came to a head after an argument with Vince McMahon over his creative direction in November.

Less than two weeks later, Ali took to social media again to ask the promotion to tear up his contract. In the same post, he also made it clear that he had no interest in appearing in the 2022 Royal Rumble.

"No, I would not like to be in [the] Rumble, I would like my release," wrote Ali.

Recent reports suggest Ali has over a year left on his contract. Unless the promotion alters its stance, it could be a while before we see the Chicago native back in the ring.

#3 The IInspiration (FKA The IIconics) turned down WWE's offer to be part of the 2022 women's Royal Rumble match

Although IMPACT Wrestling agreed to open the 'Forbidden Door' to allow Mickie James to appear in the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble, a similar deal couldn't be reached with The IInspiration.

The former Billie Kay and Peyton Royce were released by WWE in April last year, but the company was reportedly keen on bringing them back for a one-off appearance in the Rumble. Despite IMPACT being happy to let its reigning Knockouts Tag Team Champions take part in the match, Jessica McKay and Cassie Lee apparently rejected the opportunity.

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, the Australian duo felt the timing wasn't right for them to do business with their former employer again. It was also mentioned that the pair are currently very happy with their role in IMPACT.

By failing to secure the The IInspiration for the Rumble, WWE missed out on two surprise entrants that fans would no doubt have loved to see back, if only for one night.

The report's wording suggests that McKay and Lee haven't completely closed the door on a WWE comeback in the future. However, this year's Royal Rumble wasn't destined to be the stage for that return.

#2 Nia Jax refused to return to WWE for the 2022 women's Royal Rumble match

Having just been released by WWE in November 2021, Nia Jax still hadn't managed to get the company to return all her personal belongings when she was asked if she'd like to be considered for a spot in this year's Women's Royal Rumble match.

Speaking during a recent appearance on Renee Pacquette's The Sessions podcast, the former RAW Women's Champion revealed she was far from impressed with the offer or the way it was presented to her.

"I'm in the middle of getting my stuff back, they sent me a box and more than half was missing. I'm like, 'Yo, what is going on?' When I got the call I thought it was about, 'Where is my stuff?' It's my homie in [Talent Relations]. 'Hey, we're just calling to see if you'd be interested in participating in the Royal Rumble'. I started hysterically laughing. I thought it was my friend joking with me. 'Oh, you're hilarious'. 'Actually, this is an official call'. 'Oh, f*** no, I'm not coming back'. 'We'd like to offer you this'. I said, 'First of all, I'm still under my 90 days. You're still going to be paying me anyway, so you're not offering me anything. No, I'm not coming back. Absolutely f****** not. Is this all it was?' 'Yes'. 'Okay, bye.'" (H/T Fightful)

Jax made history in 2019 when she became the first superstar to appear in both the Men's and Women's Royal Rumble matches in the same year. Fast-forward three years, though, and she couldn't appear less interested to take part in either bout.

Of all the Royal Rumble rejections WWE has received, this might well have been the boldest.

#1 Jeff Hardy turned down a 2022 Royal Rumble spot and a WWE Hall of Fame induction

After reportedly refusing a request to enter rehab last December, Jeff Hardy was released by WWE.

WWE chiefs believed Hardy had been performing while under the influence after he bizarrely walked out of a match during a live event. However, the results of a subsequent drug test revealed this not to be the case.

Per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, WWE were keen for Hardy to return to the promotion after learning the news, but the Charismatic Enigma had no interest in the offer.

"Here is an update on Jeff Hardy. John Laurinaitis called Jeff Hardy to get him back a few weeks ago, including an offer to put him in the 2022 Hall of Fame class. Hardy turned it down and asked for his drug test results because he knew he wasn’t going to test positive for recreational drugs. It took Hardy and his wife six weeks to get the results back,'' stated Meltzer.

Had Hardy accepted the offer, the Royal Rumble would likely have been the ideal scenario for him to make his comeback. However, the prospect of entering the Rumble - and the WWE Hall of Fame - apparently did nothing to change Hardy's feelings.

It remains to be seen if Hardy will ever add to his 11 career Royal Rumble match appearances.